Napster
Years Active: 1999 – Present
When the original peer-to-peer file sharing service launched in June 1999, few could’ve anticipated it would open a Pandora’s Box of future lawsuits and copyright cases. But the trouble for Napster didn’t really begin until the summer of 2000, when big-name artists like Metallica and Dr. Dre forced the spotlight onto the P2P service, which at its peak saw 26.4 million active users worldwide. But an onslaught of lawsuits by the RIAA caused Napster to eventually shut down, first after an injunction in July 2001, before eventually going bankrupt in 2002 after the company was unable to pay $101 million in liabilities.
Where Are They Now?
In 2008, the rights to the brand were purchased by Best Buy. Napster currently operates as a pay-to-use streaming music service, with new music added every Tuesday.
MORE: Limewire Settles for $105 million
Next: Morpheus
Morpheus
Years Active: 2001 – 2008
Remember Morpheus? When Napster began losing momentum many users made the switch over to the shinier (and newer) service in town. Like Napster, however, Morpheus died a slow death after the emergence of Kazaa in 2002 and a steady diet of legal issues, most notably in the 2005 case MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. (who along with Streamcast created Morpheus). In what turned out to be a landmark decision for all P2P sharing sites, it was ruled that Grokster would be held accountable for third-party infringement, i.e. the illegal downloads of all its users.
Where Are They Now?
In 2008 Streamcast filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the official website http://www.morpheus.com is no longer online (you can, however, download the client from elsewhere).
MORE: Filesharing Lawsuits: Expensive, but Not Unconstitutionally So
Next: Kazaa
